Tearha: Keep Walking

Chapter Three: Arrival

The release was instantaneous and they only heard the launch command as a soft whisper after being flung across the sky at high speed. Outskirt buildings of Citi flashed past them in the blink of an eye, their home left behind without a chance for even a final look back. The g-force pushed the three of them down against their seats, Josh struggling to maintain the tail flaps to keep the glider straight. He could hear the two behind seething through their teeth.

Closer and closer they went towards the brown, rusty, smoke-filled Tainted skies. The pod slowed down, and the gravitational force reduced.

From behind, Luce said, "Open the wings!"

He shouted back, "Not yet!"

"What are you waiting for?"

The Guide kept his hands on the joystick without reply. The closer they got to the apoapsis, the further the glider could exponentially fly.

Jacques exclaimed, "If you fly into the Taint cloud, we'll get ripped to shreds!"

He yelled for them to, "Just hang on!"

The cloud layer drew closer, an ocean of metal particles that covered the atmosphere. He watched the altimeter. 2000 pletz. 2100 pletz. The metallic dust outside scratched at the body, flashes of sparks from friction popping violently around them. 2200. 2250. They could practically smell the rust through the ventilation. He reached for the red pull button and yanked. The capsule jerked as electricity ran through the circuit, setting off the controlled explosive to the folded wing tubes.

With a loud crash and a screech from the stretching of the metal frame, the wings unfolded out the sides into position. The glider rotated to the left. He pressed hard on the right pedal and pushed the stick forward. Smoothly, the glider stabilized just below the main Taint clouds. The shell continued to spark against the rust, though less erratically than before.

Heavy breathing from his two charges told him they were still reeling from the launch. Unsurprisingly, Luce was the first to exclaim, "What the Titans? Josh!"

Josh let out a breath of relief, a grin spread as he switched the flight controls to cruise. "Weren't you ready for this to be a one way trip?" he asked as he sat back and stretched. "The higher we reach, the further we can glide."

Luce angrily replied, "At what cost? Almost dying? Just to save a few plutz of walking?"

Josh went sombre, his tone lowered, and he leaned into his chair as a sudden wave of fatigue hit him. "Have you ever stepped onto The Walking Path? Seen the Titan War? I'd rather risk getting shredded by the Taint than spend an extra minute down there."

Jacques mediated, "Come on, Luce, let's just drop it. He's the Guide. We should trust he knows what to do." Their eyes met in the reflection of the glass aeronium and he nodded a thanks. She smiled back.

He said to them, "Feel free to stretch your legs. Not much room, but you could crawl here and there and lie on the floor." The pod was just shy of their standing height, but the cushioned flooring made for a makeshift bed.

Even though Luce huffed in offence, he could hear her unbuckling her belt. He half turned back and watched as she laid down across the length of the glider, crumpling her red scarf under her head and turned away to sleep. Jacques freed herself as well, but instead of lying down, she angled herself against the back wall and leaned to look out the glass. As if the rush of the take-off had not happened, the cabin fell into a dead silence, with only the rustling of the wind outside to take an edge off the ringing of quiet.

He began to wonder if he had crossed a line. It would not do him good to alienate his charges before they've even landed. Over his shoulders, Luce started to snore lightly.